Shattered Mosaic

Yoga is a brilliant exercise - not just for your body, but for your mind, as well.

Yoga becomes part of your physical life. Your body grows stronger, more toned, and more flexible as you move from one asana-or pose-to the other. "Rather than building muscle, yoga builds muscle tone," says Shakta Kaur Khalsa, author of the K.I.S.S. Guide to Yoga. "Because yoga helps maintain a balanced metabolism, it also helps to regulate weight. Additionally, yoga stretches muscles lengthwise, causing fat to be eliminated around the cells, thus reducing cellulite."

Yoga becomes part of your mental life. Yoga teaches you to focus on breathing while you hold the poses. This attention to breath is calming; it dissolves stress and anxiety.

But for the most part, the evidence of the benefits of yoga is anecdotal. They range from the simple "I can touch my toes again" to "it helped me handle my disease." A woman who was diagnosed with hepatitis C, for example, said: "Yoga has helped me immensely to deal with the hepatitis C treatment. I truly feel that the reason that I have had such a successful treatment so far is that my whole being was ready, calm, and accepting of what would be-and throughout the treatment the ability to focus, breathe, and stretch the limits of my body and mind has definitely kept me together."

Anyone can do yoga-no matter how young or old you are, whether you're a couch potato or a professional athlete. Size and fitness level do not matter because there are modifications for every yoga pose. The idea is to explore your limits, not strive for some pretzel-like perfection.